Of Demons and Monsters
by DarkRobin
Summary: Two new shinobi suddenly appear in Konoha. Why do they fit in so well and what secrets do they hold? Why is Naruto so comfortable around them?
1. Chapter 1

Many nervous genins waited with bated breath as Umino Iruka looked down at a paper in front of him, and then back at them.

"Team 7 will be…Uzumaki Naruto…Haruno Sakura…"

"Yatta!" Cried a blonde boy sitting next to a pink haired kunoichi.

"And Uchiha Sasuke!"

"Yatta!" Echoed the pink haired girl as both the blonde boy and a raven-haired boy face faulted.

'Damn…I just HAVE to be stuck with one of my biggest fan girls and the dobe…' Uchiha Sasuke thought as he tried to regain his cold, emotionless composure.

"Team 8 will consist of…Inuzuka Kiba…Hyuuga Hinata…and Aburame Shino!" The three genin glanced at each other and smiled, at least Hinata and Kiba did. Shino merely glanced at them.

"Team 9 will consist of…Rock Lee…Hyuuga Neji…and Tenten!" A boy with a bowl cut yelled "Yosh!" as he examined his new teammates. The pink-clad girl blushed as she looked down at Neji. Neji merely closed his eyes and sighed.

"And finally, Team 10 shall consist of…Nara Shikamaru…Akimichi Chouji…And Yamanaka Ino!" A skinny, pineapple-haired genin merely looked up at the ceiling and mumbled something under his breath. The chubby boy merely grinned as he opened a fresh packet of potato chips. The cute blonde haired girl frowned as she looked at her teammates, and looked over at the pink-haired girl with a deep look of jealousy and hatred.

"Now that all genins have been assigned to a team, you shall go to different classrooms to meet your jounin instructor. Teams 1 through 6, please go up to the second floor, where your instructors will be waiting for you." Iruka paused to allow the many genins walk out of the room.

"Now then, Team 7, you shall have to go to…" He was cut off by a taller, sickly looking ninja running into the room.

"Gemma, something wrong?" Iruka asked.

"Yeah." Gemma said in a hushed voice. "There are two extra genin."

"Damn, isn't there another jounin instructor to take them?"

"No, that's the problem. There's no one to take them on. They'll have to be put into one of these teams." Gemma said, gesturing at the four teams still in the room. He could tell that all of them were trying as hard as they could to hear the conversation.

"Didn't anyone decide which team they would be in already?"

"No, but the good thing is, Sandaime said it would be alright if you did it yourself. He obviously trusts your judgment. Let it not go to waste." Gemma thrust two files into Iruka's hand and quickly left the room.

'Misuru Daeka. Age: 13. Height 5'. Ninjutsu specialist…interesting bloodline. Haete Yikone. Age: 12. Height: 4'11...Whoa, that's impressive, yet disturbing.' Iruka set the files down on the desk behind him and looked back up at the remaining genin.

"Sorry for the delay. There has been a bit of a mix-up, so two teams will be getting an extra member." This aroused the attention of all twelve genin, who had been dozing off.

"May I introduce…Misuru Daeka and Haete Yikone." As he said that, two boys appeared in front of him in a poof of smoke. The taller one had dark black hair with eyes darker than Sasuke's. He wore a trench coat with a blood red trimming and black and red boots. His headband was slightly covered by his unruly hair. The shorter one had midnight blue hair with eyes almost reflecting his hair color. He wore a dark blue jacket with a gray trimming around the shoulders and arms and a black trimming around the torso and forming an outline of a dragon on his back. His pants matched his jacket as did his sandals. His headband was worn around his neck.

The two boys looked up at the other genin with cold, calculating looks in their eyes. The others didn't look them in the eyes, except for Shikamaru, Shino, Neji, and Sasuke.

"Now, after careful assessment of their abilities, I've decided to add Daeka into Team 7 and Yikone into Team 10. Team 7, you shall go to the chakra control 101 classroom to meet your jounin instructor." Daeka, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke walked down the hallway, none of them saying a word as they entered the empty room and sat down. Sasuke sat in a seat in the middle row of them room, Sakura sitting next to him and ogling him. Daeka sat on the teacher's desk and Naruto paced about the room impatiently.

"Why is the sensei of our team so damn late?" He groaned. Daeka eyed him carefully.

"Shut up, dobe." Sasuke said.

"You shut up, you freak!" Naruto shot back.

"Naruto, don't you dare talk to Sasuke like that!" Sakura yelled, cracking her knuckles threateningly. Naruto's face changed from angry to scared as he backed down from the raging fan girl.

"O-ok…sorry, Sakura-chan…" He stammered. Sakura turned back to Sasuke and gazed at him adoringly. Daeka watched as Naruto's face lit up again and he walked over to the chalkboard, grabbing an eraser and heading back over to the door.

"Naruto, you don't really expect a jounin to fall for that childish booby trap, do you?" Sasuke asked.

"Hey, you can't blame a guy for trying to have fun, I'm bored!"

"Whatever, if a jounin can't dodge or block that, then I'm gonna seriously doubt his skill." Sakura said.

'This girl talks too much…and the blonde kid does, too…Although he's not as dumb as the girl.' Daeka thought.

"You're Uzumaki Naruto, I presume?" Daeka finally spoke in a slightly deep voice. Sakura jumped, forgetting that he was with them.

"Yeah. I guess you've heard about me, you know, like how I'm gonna be the next Hokage, huh?" Naruto said, flashing his grin…his fox-like grin.

"Sorry, I haven't heard about that. ("Nani?!") But I have heard a lot about you. Misuru Daeka." He said, extending his hand. Naruto took it and shook it vigorously.

"Well, you better remember it. Uzumaki Naruto WILL be the next Hokage!"

"I bet you will." Daeka said, smiling a little.

"You can't honestly believe that that idiot is going to be Hokage, can you?" Sakura interjected.

"I believe he could be. Don't you?"

"Naruto, the village idiot? You're joking, right?" Daeka saw Naruto about to retaliate when he quickly covered Naruto's mouth and winked at him.

"Save it for now." He whispered. Naruto gave him a puzzled look, but nodded all the same.

"Haruno Sakura. A smart girl, and exceptionally skilled in basic genjutsu and advanced chakra control." Sakura beamed at him.

"I don't like you." He said coldly. Sakura's smile slid off of her face. Sasuke fought to keep from laughing at that.

"Well, who cares what you think as long as my Sasuke-kun is still here." She said, once again gazing at Sasuke.

"Uchiha Sasuke. The only other survivor of the Uchiha massacre. A genius…or at least, you would be a genius with those eyes…" Daeka said. Sasuke looked at him, shocked.

"How do you…" Sasuke began.

"Don't ask." Daeka interrupted. At that moment, the door opened and a masked face slowly entered, but stopped as the eraser fell onto his spiky hair. Naruto doubled over, laughing. Sakura face faulted.

"Well, my first impression of you four…" He said as he lazily threw the eraser away.

"Is that I don't like you." Naruto stopped laughing immediately and Sakura adopted a hurt face.

"Meet me up on the roof." With that, the jounin poofed away. Daeka and Sakura followed suit. Naruto and Sasuke merely walked up to the roof. When they were all there, the jounin gestured for them to sit on a bench in front of him.

"Ok, let's begin with some introductions. How about…your likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, hobbies, stuff like that." Daeka opened his mouth to speak when Naruto spoke up.

"Hey, why don't you introduce yourself first?"

"Yeah, you look suspicious." Sakura said. Daeka sighed. He _really _didn't like this girl.

"Oh...me?" Their new sensei said.

"Well, my name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you guys about my likes and dislikes. Dreams for the future? Hm…well, I have lots of hobbies…"

"One of which involves reading Icha Icha Paradise, right?" Daeka said, looking up at the sky. Kakashi examined him carefully.

'Maybe these guys aren't morons after all…'

"So all we learned is his name and that he likes to read a certain book series?" Sakura whispered her to fellow genin.

"Now it's your turn." Kakashi said, pretending he didn't hear Sakura. "From the right."

"Me!! ME!! My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like cup ramen. What I dislike is waiting three minutes for the ramen to cook. My dream…"

'Does he ever think about anything besides ramen?' Kakashi thought.

"Is to surpass the Hokage!!! And then have all the people of this village acknowledge my existence!" Naruto straightened his headband and continued.

"My hobbies…pranks, I guess." He finished, failing to notice his sensei's look of slight surprise.

"I see…next."

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke." The raven haired boy spoke, never moving his interlaced hands away from his mouth.

"There are a ton of things I dislike, but I don't really like anything. And…I don't want to use the word "dream," but I have an ambition. The resurrection of my clan and…to kill a certain man." He finished, leaving Naruto and Sakura gazing in awe. Daeka, however, continued to gaze at the sky.

'Cool.' Sakura thought.

'He better not mean me…' Naruto thought.

'I thought so…' Daeka and Kakashi thought.

"Ok, now the girl."

"I'm Haruno Sakura. The thing I like is…" She began to blush.

"Well, the person I like is…Um…Should I say my dream for the future…?" Her blush increased and she shook her head.

"Oh my…the thing I dislike is…Naruto!" She said, making Naruto's jaw hit the ground.

"My hobby is…" She continued, however, Daeka and Kakashi had stopped listening.

'Girls of this age are interested in love more than ninjutsu.' The jounin thought.

"Now, the silent one." Daeka turned away from the sky and looked at his sensei.

"My name is Misuru Daeka. I like meeting new people, training, and learning new jutsus. I dislike those who are afraid to talk to me and those that do wrong. My dreams for the future are to become Hokage, just like Naruto, and spread peace throughout the world. Also, I have an ambition. Like Sasuke, it's to kill certain people. My hobbies are training and collecting things. That's all you need to know about me for now." Once he had finished, he again gazed at the sky.

'Hey, I like this guy!' Naruto thought.

'Hmph, he can't compare to my Sasuke-kun!' Sakura thought angrily.

"Interesting…" Kakashi mumbled.

"That's enough of that. We will start our duties tomorrow." Naruto immediately sprang up and saluted Kakashi.

"Yay! What kind of duties?! Duties, duties!!"

"Calm down, Naruto. We're doing nothing more than survival training." Daeka said.

"How d'you know that?" Naruto asked.

"I did some research on every jounin instructor when I became a genin."

"Well, I'm partly scared at that, partly curious as to what is going to happen. Daeka's right. However, this won't be ordinary survival training."

"What is our duty, training?" Sasuke said.

"We did enough survival training back at the academy." Sakura said.

"I'm going to be your opponent." As Kakashi said that, he began to laugh.

"Hey, what's so funny?" Sakura demanded.

"It's just that…When I tell you this, you guys are definitely going to flip."

"Flip? Whadya mean flip?" Naruto asked.

"Of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will be chosen as Genin. The rest will be sent back to the academy. This training is a super difficult exam with a failure rate of over sixty-six percent." The jaws of Naruto and Sakura hit the ground. Sasuke tensed and, however, Daeka seemed unfazed.

"I told you you'd flip."

"What the hell?! We worked so hard only to…" Naruto was cut off by a hand to his mouth.

"Relax." Daeka simply said.

"Thanks, Daeka. Now then, bring all your shinobi tools. Oh, and skip breakfast. You'll throw up." Naruto was more nervous than he had ever been in his life. Kakashi handed out printouts with details about their training while Sakura continued to spazz out. ("Throw up?! Is it that tough?)

"See you tomorrow morning." Kakashi poofed away, leaving the four students to plan for their next day.

"Hey, don't go home yet." Daeka said as they got up.

"Why? I have to go get ready!" Naruto said.

"Come with me." With that, Daeka leapt off of the roof and ran off to the nearby training fields. His teammates followed. They stopped when they reached a large, empty field.

"What'd you bring us all the way out here for?" Sakura demanded.

"I simply wanted to see firsthand how good you are." Daeka said as he looked around to make sure nobody was around.

"So it's going to be a free-for-all fight?" Sasuke asked.

"No, you're all going to be fighting me at once."

"Don't you think that's a little tough on you? I mean, Sasuke-kun alone is enough to take you down." Sakura stated.

"Maybe, maybe not. Come at me."

"Alright, don't cry if you get hurt!" Naruto said as he ran at Daeka. Daeka merely smirked as he got into a battle stance.

Naruto was the first to make a move. He charged at Daeka, disregarding his other two teammates.

'I'm gonna show Sasuke how much better I am. Then, Sakura will like me more than him!' He let out a battle cry as he lunged at his newest teammate and attempted to punch him in his jaw. Daeka merely ducked under him and punched him lightly in his stomach, sending Naruto tumbling to the ground.

Naruto rolled out of his fall and threw two shuriken at Daeka's back, hitting him dead-on.

"Yeah!" Naruto cheered, but his cheer turned into a yell of shock as Daeka's body was replaced with a log, the shuriken embedded in it. Naruto instinctively turned around, expecting Daeka to be behind him. Seeing nothing behind him, he immediately adopted a look of confusion.

"Where'd he go?" He asked aloud. Sasuke spotted him quickly.

"Naruto, in front of you!" He yelled out. Naruto didn't have time to react as he felt a palm slam into his chest and the next thing he knew, he was hurtling through the air, stopping only when he ran into a tree.

"Damn, this guy is strong. Sakura, stay back!" Sasuke activated his Sharingan eyes and ran towards Daeka. He threw two kunai as he ran and subtly began sending chakra into his mouth and hands. Daeka sensed him channeling chakra and sent chakra into his eyes, activating his bloodline limit.

He blocked the two kunai with his own kunai and put it back into his pouch as he saw Sasuke leap above him and make hand seals. Daeka copied his hand seals and put his right hand up to his mouth just as Sasuke did.

"Katon! Grand Fireball Technique!" Sasuke cried as a large amount of fire emitted from his mouth.

"Suiton! Grand Waterball Technique!" Daeka yelled as an equally large ball of water spewed from his mouth. The two attacks collided, canceling each other out and leaving a cloud of steam above them.

"What the hell was that?" Sasuke asked as he landed.

"I'll explain later." Daeka ran at Sasuke faster than Sasuke's eyes could keep up with. Sasuke used his Sharingan to predict where he would attack from and soon, the two were in a hand-to-hand tussle, although Daeka seemed to be fighting back lazily and dodging his moves easily.

"I thought an Uchiha would be stronger than this…" Daeka said, angering Sasuke.

"Don't you dare call my Sasuke weak!" Sakura said as she threw more shuriken at Daeka than he could count, charging at him recklessly after she did so. Daeka looked over at Sakura and pointed his open palm at her.

"Futon! Tornado Technique!" A small tornado appeared in front of him, trapping the shuriken that were homing in on him. Sakura stopped dead in her tracks as she watched she tornado turn sideways, now pointing at her.

"Thanks, Sakura, you helped me make a new jutsu. Shuriken Twister Technique!" The tornado shot at her. Sakura was too scared to move. Naruto had recovered and dove at Sakura.

"Watch out!" He tackled her to the ground and out of the way of Daeka's attack. He felt one of the shuriken hit him and inhaled sharply as his skin was cut.

"Pervert, get off of me!" Sakura punched Naruto off of her and stood up, glaring angrily at him. Daeka sighed.

"This fight is over." He said, deactivating his bloodline.

"No, it isn't over yet! I haven't shown you my true power yet!" Naruto yelled and made a cross seal.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He cried. Four shadow replications of himself appeared and once again, charged at Daeka.

'A genin can do this jutsu already?' Daeka thought as he cursed himself for deactivating his bloodline so quickly. He reactivated it and grabbed two kunai from his pouch. He threw them at the five Narutos, but they all dodged them easily.

"Don't underestimate me!" They all shouted as they surrounded Daeka and leapt upon him. Sasuke and Sakura looked on in awe as Naruto seemingly defeated their new teammate with a jutsu they had never seen before.

"Those aren't regular bunshins…" Sasuke said.

"What do you mean, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked. Sasuke groaned. He was getting sick of that 'Sasuke-kun' crap.

"You know that a regular bunshin is just an easily-dispelled illusion created to look like the creator or as something he or she chooses. These replications…are actual bodies." Sakura looked on as Naruto and his four bunshins continued to beat down Daeka. When they all leapt back, there was a beat up-looking Naruto on the ground in Daeka's place.

"What the?" Naruto examined it and thought it was actually one of his bunshins.

"You must be the real one, then!" He punched a bunshin to his left and it disappeared.

"Naruto! Just dispel all of your bunshins!" Sasuke yelled out to him. Naruto did so and all of the replications disappeared, including the one that was on the ground. Before he could turn around, he felt something sharp press against the back of his neck.

"Impressive." Daeka said from behind him. "But not good enough to beat me." He put his kunai away and beckoned his teammates over to him. As they walked over to him, he deactivated his bloodline.

"Well, I can that this really is a balanced team." Daeka said.

"Yeah, two good and two bad." Sasuke said. Daeka frowned at him.

"What makes you think of Naruto and Sakura as bad ninja?"

"Naruto was dead last in class and Sakura's useless."

"Even if Naruto was dead last, that by no means says anything about his ability. This is one of the most talented group of young ninja I've seen. Sakura also has the makings of a good medic ninja, what with her good chakra control."

"And what of me?" Sasuke asked.

"You have a good arsenal of offensive jutsus for someone who just graduated from the Academy. We have to put all of our skills to use to pass the test that Kakashi-sensei is going to give us."

"I don't need you losers to help me. Your skills are far below mine." Sasuke said.

"Shut the hell up, Sasuke. If our skills are so damned low, then why can both Naruto and I beat you?" Sakura tensed up.

"Hey, what about me? My skill is--"

"Sakura, you have nothing but basic genjutsu and chakra control. Naruto, Sasuke, and I are far better than you right now. Don't get me wrong, now. You'd make an excellent support or medic ninja." Sakura looked slightly relieved at that and Sasuke looked down at the ground.

"Hmph…"

"Look, you're never even going to be considered a ninja unless we pass this test, and quite frankly, you need us." Daeka said.

"Fine, then what are we going to have to do?" Sasuke said, finally giving up.

"Thought you'd never ask." Daeka said with a smirk. He pulled a slightly large scroll from inside his trench coat and laid it on the ground.

"Now then, I read in the ninja archives that each jounin instructor has a different test for their genin. Kakashi sticks with an old fashioned one. He has bells, one less than the number of genin in his team. So, we're going to need to capture three bells."

"Three bells? What happens to the one that doesn't get a bell?" Sakura asked.

"Honestly, I don't know. They didn't tell that in Kakashi's file. So, we're simply going to have to use teamwork to get the bells, as Kakashi is way more skilled than we are. Naruto, first I want you and…"As Daeka told his well-formulated plan to his teammates, Team 10 was meeting up for the first time.

"This is so troublesome…why couldn't we meet up sooner?" Said a boy whose hair resembled a pineapple. He wanted nothing more than to just watch the clouds, yet he was forced to meet up with his team. His childhood friend, Akimichi Chouji walked over to the bench, munching on a pack of chips as always.

"Hey, Shikamaru." Chouji said as he sat down next to him.

"What's up, Chouji."

"Did you take a look at the other two people that's in our team?"

"Yeah, one's a bitch, the other's emo." Chouji chuckled.

"Something tells me I'm not going to like one of them very much." He said as he threw his empty pack to the ground and opened a new one. Yikone slowly made his way over to them and instead of sitting down next his new teammates, he leaned against the stone wall behind him, not even acknowledging that they were even there. Chouji and Shikamaru stared at him, hoping to find something to say.

"Hi." Chouji said, hoping to break the ice.

"I'm Chouji. Looks like we're teammates, eh?"

"Hmph." Yikone grunted. Chouji shared a side glance with his friend.

"Er…what's your name?"

"Yikone." He spoke in a low voice. They could almost feel the ice in his voice as he spoke and were more than relieved to see Ino walking toward them.

"Hey Ino!" Chouji said, smiling.

"Hey Chouji." Ino said, smiling back at him, then glancing at Shikamaru before looking away with a slight blush.

"Where's our instructor?" She asked. Her question was answered with a stinging smell of tobacco smoke reaching her nostrils. They looked up to see a tall, tan man with a cigarette in his mouth looking down at them.

"So you're my new team, eh?" He said.

"I guess we should start off with proper introductions. Starting from the right, you there. Tell me your name, likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, and hobbies."

"Well--"

"Is it not customary for you to introduce yourself before asking others to introduce themselves?" Yikone interrupted Ino.

"Heh, you're right." Asuma took a drag of cigarette before speaking again.

"My name is Sarutobi Asuma. I like smoking and Shogi. I dislike places where I can't smoke. I don't really have any dreams for the future, and my main hobby is playing shogi." He finished and took another drag, looking over at Ino.

"Well," Ino said, shooting a quick death glance at Yikone, as if she was daring him to interrupt her again.

"My name is Yamanaka Ino. I like flowers and…" She trailed off a bit, but caught herself.

"I dislike intense training and those who try to outdo me. Dreams for the future? Well…I hope to one day expand my parents' shop. My hobbies are tending to flowers and training." As she finished, she looked over at Shikamaru, who seemed to be zoning out in his seat.

"Hey Shika, it's your turn." Chouji said, nudging him.

"Grah…mendoukosai.." Shikamaru said as he looked over at his instructor.

"My name is Nara Shikamaru. I like watching clouds and relaxing. I dislike doing almost any kind of work. Don't really have any dreams for the future…but my main hobby is playing shougi." He looked back up at the sky as soon as he had finished.

"My name is Akimichi Chouji." Chouji said brightly. "I like eating good food and hanging around my friends. I dislike bad food, people who are stingy with food at restaurants and those who abuse my friends. I hope to one day open my own restaurant. My hobbies are training and cooking." He pulled out another pack of chips and looked over expectantly at Yikone.

"Haete Yikone. I have many likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, and hobbies." Yikone said quickly. Asuma fought to keep from face faulting as he lit another cigarette.

"Now that we know each other, it's time to tell you what your duties shall be--"

"Wait, aren't we supposed to have some kind of test before we start our duties?" Shikamaru asked.

"Not at all." Asuma said. "Now then…" As he briefed his team, Daeka was just finishing up his plans for his.

"And that will be our final plan, Alpha-3. We use that one against Kakashi."

"What if it doesn't work?" Sakura asked.

"If everybody does their part, we won't. I have a feeling that the test will focus around how good our teamwork is. We work together, we pass the test." Daeka rolled the scroll up and sealed it with his blood.

"That's all. See you all in the morning. Oh, and do heed Kakashi's warning about not to eat breakfast, or we'll be stuffed by the time we finish that test." With that, Daeka disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving his three teammates standing in the training area.

"Sasuke-kun, there's something about that guy I don't like." Sakura said.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked. "He was pretty cool."

"But it felt like he was holding back in our fight. He was also hiding something, but I couldn't put my finger on it…" Sasuke said.

"Bah, you two worry too much." Naruto said loudly. Sasuke looked up at Naruto with the cold look he always had on his face.

"Shut up and go home already, dobe." Sasuke began to walk away to the Uchiha manor, Sakura close behind him.

"Damn that guy…" Naruto mumbled to himself as he began walking in the opposite direction to his apartment.

"Always thinks he's so damn cool…" Naruto quickened his pace, eager to continue working on his Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.

Back at his house, Daeka was busy preparing his dinner when a knife suddenly flew at his head. He merely tilted his head to the left and let the knife hit the cupboard in front of him.

"Welcome home, Yikone." He said, taking the knife out and cleaning it off.

"How's your team?" Yikone said.

"One loud mouthed, hyperactive guy, one fangirl, and one borderline-emo." Daeka said as he began cutting up vegetables with the now clean knife.

"Damn, I thought I had a bad team. One lazy ass, one fat ass, and one fangirl." Yikone replied, taking a bottle of water out of their fridge.

"Lemme guess, she's a fangirl of the Uchiha guy?"

"Yup. What's so good about that guy, anyway?"

"Nothing really. He's just the 'badass' guy that girls seem to like nowadays. He's just an emo really, always dwelling on the loss of his clan."

"Isn't that a bit insensitive?"

"That coming from the guy who humiliates every opponent he fights before killing them mercilessly."

"You can't judge me!" Yikone said, pointing a finger at his friend dramatically.

"Can't I?" Daeka said in a creepy voice before the two broke out in laughter.

"Tell me something, have your teammates seen you smile yet?" Daeka asked.

"No, and I don't plan to let them see me smile."

"Yikone, Yikone, Yikone…" Daeka said, shaking his head.

"You don't smile in public, you don't show any emotion whatsoever. You wear tight clothing. I haven't even seen you peek at a woman from the side of your eyes…"

"What are you getting at?" Yikone asked, his eyes narrowing as he fought to wipe the smile off of his face.

"Are you a homosexual?" Daeka said, turning around and looking at his best friend with a mock-serious look.

"Katon!" Yikone let out a small stream of fire.

"Suiton!" Daeka shot an equally small stream of water. Yikone glared at Daeka.

"Why did you have to copy most of my jutsus?" He asked.

"Don't give me that…I also learned how to do them…also it's a real bitch to learn the real move after copying it."

"That does nothing to console me."

"I let you keep most of your best moves so far."

"What doton technique did you copy the other day?"

"The earth dragon one. Have you mastered how to mix elements together?"

"Not quite yet. Enough of this, what's your test gonna be like tomorrow?"

"Capture some bells. You?"

"There is no test...Looks like we're both gonna have an easy time."

"Yeah. Although…we're going to be doing D-Rank missions for a while."

"Sucks to be genin…that beef and chicken stew ready?"

"Just about." Daeka said as he poured half of his stew into two bowls and passed one to Yikone.

"Itadakimasu." They said as they sat down and dug into their food.

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's tower, Kakashi and Asuma were deep in conversation with the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama, you wanted to see us?" Asuma said.

"Yes. Two of your genin are…troubling me."

"Something wrong with them?" Kakashi asked.

"They are stronger than every other genin…the Haeta boy knows more elemental jutsus than I do and Misuru has the skill of a low-ANBU in both tai and ninjutsu." Asuma's eyes widened.

"What? The only genin who even has potential to do that is…"

"Uzumaki Naruto, and that's only because of the Kyuubi sealed inside of him. I fear what he will be like once he has mastered control of Kyuubi's chakra…"

"So, you're just concerned that some of our newest ninja are a bit too strong?" Kakashi asked.

"No. That doesn't trouble me in the least. What I want to know is…are these kids jinchuuriki?" Sarutobi asked.

"Afraid not." Kakashi said, his Icha Icha Paradise book now open.

"What village were they originally born in?" Asuma said.

"In the Hidden Mist Village." Kakashi stated.

"But, wasn't that village destroyed quite a while ago?"

"Yes, but apparently, a few ninja survived and passed on their knowledge to those born later. From what we know about it, Daeka and Yikone were their star pupils. They were on recon missions when Suna finally found out about what little remained of the Hidden Mist Village and dispatched some of their ninja to annihilate what was left.

"After killing everyone they found, they did a sweep of the village to see if they could find anyone else. Unfortunately, Daeka and Yikone returned to the village at the time the sweep was being conducted. They were taken into custody without resistance and were examined by medical shinobi. After they were discovered to be much more powerful than expected, they were sent here in hopes that if they did get out of line, Konoha would be able to keep them in check." Asuma looked at Kakashi, his mouth agape.

"What I'm really worried about." Sarutobi said. "Is that they haven't shown any signs of hostility to us. It's as though they were born here. They also haven't shown any sign that they were born in the Hidden Mist Village. As you both know, Hidden Mist ninja were cold, ruthless killers. These two are better than I could have ever expected them to be."

"Excuse my rudeness, but can you get to the point?" Kakashi said, now focusing more on his book.

"I want you two to watch those genin more closely. I'm offset by their power and their quick adaptation to life here."

"I highly doubt that they would betray their new home, but orders are orders, I suppose…"

"That's all. You are dismissed now." Kakashi and Asuma bowed and disappeared in a poof of smoke, reappearing outside of the tower.

"You think he's being a little too paranoid?" Kakashi asked.

"Kinda, but I suppose he has a good reason to worry."

"Please don't become as paranoid as some people in your family, Asuma…" Kakashi disappeared once again. Asuma chuckled and lit another cigarette.

"I won't, Kakashi. You don't worry about that."


	2. Chapter 2

Daeka rose up from his bed the same way a vampire from old horror movies would rise from a coffin. After yawning and stretching, he let his eyes adjust to the light now shining in his room. As he looked around, he saw Yikone looking out his window, his face showing no emotion.

"Sleep good?" Yikone asked.

"Yeah…I would ask you the same thing if I didn't know that you never sleep." Daeka got out of his bed and began to get dressed.

"Hey, Yikone, I've been meaning to ask you this for a while."

"Hm?" Yikone said, not looking away from the window.

"How is it that you don't have huge bags under your eyes? You should have rings around your eyes to match Gaara's!"

"Simple medical jutsu I learned…clears my face."

"When'd you learn it?" Daeka grabbed his toothbrush and headed to their bathroom.

"Oh, a little while after we first got here."

"Broke into the Hokage tower, didn't you?"

"…Yeah, so what if I did?"

"You're going to be put in jail before you become a chuunin…"

"At least I'll have taken a shower before I do. Are you even gonna put a bar of soap against your body?"

"I showered last night. Besides, we both have to meet our teams for our test this morning. We're not gonna have enough time to shower."

"Good point…I'll go warm up some leftover pancakes…"

"Don't. When we pass the test, we're going to be treated by our new instructors. We'd be stuffed…and I don't like training on an overfilled stomach."

"Daeka, you could fit a ton of food into that black hole you call a stomach…" Yikone said as he grabbed his jacket and headband from the chair he was sitting on.

"See you on the training fields…" Yikone jumped out of the window he was previously sitting on and began walking to the field his instructor told them to meet at. Daeka followed suit after grabbing his trenchcoat and headband.

"You're late." Kakashi said as Daeka finally showed up, munching on an apple.

"Now you know how it feels." Daeka took one more bite of the apple and tossed it away. Kakashi shot a side glance at Daeka before taking three bells out of his pocket.

"The goal of this test is to…"

"Get the bells. The one who doesn't get a bell gets tied up to a log and has to starve while his teammates eat right in front of him. We have until noon. Can we get on with this?" Daeka said. Kakashi sighed. He liked this kid, but was annoyed a bit by him.

"Right. Start." Kakashi set the bells on the pouch on his right thigh and began reading his book. Daeka, Sasuke, and Sakura quickly hid in random places, Sakura staying close to Sasuke. Naruto jumped onto a tree branch behind Kakashi and frowned down at him.

'Good…they've all hidden themselves…' Kakashi thought, examining the area with his eye.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei! Fight me head on!" Naruto yelled, making Kakashi sweatdrop.

"That baka…" Sasuke whispered. Daeka smiled as Naruto attacked Kakashi furiously, buying them time. He grabbed a twig next to him on the ground and threw it at Sasuke, signaling them he was about to make his move.

"I'll beat you to a pulp!" Naruto bellowed as he attempted to kick and punch Kakashi, but it worked to no avail. Naruto attempted a savage haymaker punch, but his fist connected with nothing as Kakashi disappeared.

"A ninja isn't supposed to get caught from behind, idiot." Kakashi said with his book closed and his fingers…

'Waah! Is that the seal of the Tiger?' Sakura thought. 'Is he going to use Ninjutsu on Naruto?'

'That's the seal of Fire…that idiot isn't just going to run around?' Sasuke thought.

"A Thousand Years of Pain!" Kakashi said, thrusting his fingers into Naruto's backside.

"Gaaaaahhhh!" Naruto screamed as he flew through the air into the nearby river. Sasuke felt something hit his leg and looked over, seeing Daeka swiftly moving towards their instructor. He let out an earsplitting cry as he jumped into the air and came down driving his foot into the ground where Kakashi once stood. Kakashi's eyes widened as he saw a small crater underneath Daeka's foot.

"I thought you would've been a bit more quiet…I saw that move coming from a mile away." Daeka said nothing, but continued his full frontal assault on Kakashi. He attempted a sweep kick, which Kakashi jumped over. He continued with a backflip kick, which Kakashi was forced to block, sending him higher into the air. He jumped up to stay on level with him and brought his foot down upon Kakashi's head, which was blocked like his other blows.

He leaned forward, and attempted to punch Kakashi in the small of his back. Kakashi merely spun around and kicked Daeka in the face. He expected Daeka to fall to the ground and discontinue because of his injury. What he didn't expect was for him to crumble into a pile of dirt, expand, and wrap around his body. He then felt a foot connect with his back and fell to the ground.

"Alright, I'll admit, you caught me off guard with that one." Kakashi said, freeing himself of the dirt.

"Doton Bunshin Trap." Daeka said simply, dropping into his fighting stance.

"So you got me once…I doubt any of you four could do that again." Kakashi wiped some dirt off of his book and resumed reading it.

"WANNA BET?" Fifteen Narutos yelled as they emerged from the river. Kakashi eye widened as they charged at him.

'Kage Bunshin? That's a Jounin level move!' Daeka, Sasuke, and Sakura grinned as Daeka yelled out,

"Alpha-3!" At that, Kakashi turned around to see Sakura charging at him, throwing many shuriken at him. He jumped over it and blocked kunai from Sasuke with the metal plates in his gloves.

"Now!" Sasuke yelled. Naruto and his clones charged forward, jumping forward and rearing back their fists. As Kakashi prepared to dodge it, Sasuke jumped on Daeka's shoulders and higher than Kakashi.

"Katon! Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" He roared, unleashing a large fireball. Kakashi barely got away from it with minor burns. As he fell, Naruto's clones jumped on him. In mere seconds, they were beaten down by Kakashi who looked at his team lazily.

"Nice hustle, but you didn't manage to get the…what the hell?!" Kakashi had just patted his pouch, hoping that the bells would be there. He looked up in horror as Daeka, Sakura, and Sasuke all held out there bells at him.

"Nihihi…Not our strongest formation, but it's good for distracting the opponent." Naruto said cockily.

"How did you manage to grab the bells?" Kakashi asked them.

"Combination of Henge and Kawarimi no Jutsu." Sasuke said.

"I see…well, we'll continue discussing this over there." Kakashi said, pointing at the three logs behind them.

"Wait, but, we got the bells!" Naruto shouted.

"Yes, but I said that the one who didn't get a bell gets tied up and doesn't get to eat." Kakashi pulled out a rope and dragged a kicking and screaming Naruto over to the middle log, where he was tied up.

"No freakin' fair…" Naruto complained.

"Ah, shut it, dobe." Sasuke said as he ate right in front of a starving Naruto.

"Remind me to kick your ass later, teme." Naruto growled. Kakashi stood in front of them, reading his book.

"So, when did you grab the bells?" He asked.

"As soon as you fell away from Sasuke-kun's technique." Sakura said.

"After some careful planning, Sakura and I disguised ourselves as another one of Naruto's clones while they disguised themselves as us. We performed a quick Kawarimi, grabbed a bell each and Kawarimi-ed back to our original places, dispelling the Henges almost instantly after."

"But that doesn't explain how Daeka had one."

"Basic Doton Jutsu. Earth Grab. I simply had the ground move up, lightly snatch a bell from your pouch, and quickly move it over to me. Why do you think I stayed in a kneeling position for so long after Sasuke jumped on my shoulders?"

"Then I assume Naruto didn't grab one because his job in that plan was to distract me?"

"Yeah…" Said Naruto.

"Amazing…you all work together so well, yet, how far would you go for each other?"

"What do you mean, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked. Kakashi slowly closed his book, took a kunai from his holster and moved in an instant to Sasuke, holding the kunai to his neck.

"Sakura, kill Naruto and Daeka or Sasuke dies!" He said. Sakura looked, wide-eyed as Kakashi pressed his kunai harder and harder against Sasuke's neck. She took out a kunai of her own and stared at Naruto.

"S-Sakura-chan…you wouldn't really kill me, would you?" He asked.

"Do it!" Kakashi ordered. Sakura took one last look at Naruto before aiming the kunai at his neck, then throwing it at Kakashi. Kakashi jumped away and landed in the middle of the four.

"That's it!" He said, fury emanating from what little of his face they could see. They braced themselves for what he would say.

"You all…pass." He gave them a one-eyed smile as they stared at him incredulously.

"What? But…how?"

"This test was purposely set up to make you fight amongst yourselves for the three bells. You somehow managed to figure out that you needed teamwork to grab the bells, even though one person would end up tied to a log, starving."

"What did you think we would do?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto, I thought you would run around by yourself instead of working with your team. Sasuke, I thought you would try to do everything by yourself."

"That was my first choice…" Sasuke mumbled.

"Sakura, I thought you would ignore Naruto and Daeka and stay beside Sasuke ."

"I would've liked to." Sakura said.

"Daeka…I had no idea as to what you would do." Kakashi confessed. After hearing no response from Daeka, he decided to continue.

"Superior individual ability is important to a ninja, but even more important is teamwork." He gave one examining look to the four before continuing.

"So, congratulations. You four are the first to ever pass my test…" Kakashi turned his head and stared at the sky, a faraway look in his eye.

"A ninja must see underneath the underneath. Those who break the rules and codes of the ninja world are called trash. But you know what? Those who don't take care of their comrades…are lower than trash." Kakashi almost sighed, as he had to learn that lesson the hard way.

'He's so cool.' Naruto thought.

"So, like I said, you all pass. Starting tomorrow, Team #7 will begin it's duties."

"YAY! I DID IT! I DID IT! NINJA! NINJA! NINJA!" The tied up blonde exclaimed.

"Shut up, dobe." Sasuke said, although he could not help but smirk as he thought that he was finally a ninja, too. Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, and Daeka began walking off as Kakashi went to treat his new team.

"Damn it, I knew this would happen! Untie me!!"

"You guys going back for him?" Daeka asked.

"Nah." Sasuke said. Daeka sighed as he made an inverted cross sign and created a Doton Bunshin. This would be a long adventure…and yet, he was looking forward to it.


	3. Chapter 3

Rock steady. Quieter than a shadow. Completely focused on their mission, Team 7 was as they hid behind their target.

"What's the distance to the target?" Came their instructor's voice through their headsets.

"Five meters." Sasuke responded. "I'm ready anytime."

"So am I."

"Me too."

"Ditto."

"Ok…GO!" In the blink of an eye, the team was rushing at their target.

"UURRRAAA!" Naruto yelled as he pounced on it. His teammates surrounded it, stopping any attempts at it escaping.

"Nnnyyyaaa!" The cat screeched as it felt Naruto's arms wrap around it's belly. It got over its shock quickly, however, and began furiously scratching Naruto's face. Sasuke, genuinely unfazed by his teammate's anguish, brought his hand back up to his headset.

"Ribbon on the left ear, are you sure this is the target, Tora?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah, we're sure."

"Good. Lost Pet 'Tora' Search Misson Complete!" They took their target back to the Hokage Tower, where the cat suffered more than it put Naruto through.

"Oh, my cute little Tora-chan. I was so worried." Said its owner as she nuzzled the cat's face.

'Gyahaa. In your face, stupid cat.' Naruto thought.

"Geez, no wonder it ran away." Sakura mumbled.

"Now," The Third Hokage said, holding a small paper up to his face. "Kakashi's Team #7, your next duty is…hmm…babysitting an elder's grandson, shopping in the neighboring village, and help with the potato digging." As he read them off, Naruto's frustration rose.

"NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! No thank you!!! I want to do, you know, a more incredible mission!!! Find us a better one!!!" He yelled.

'Wow, for once, I actually agree with the dobe.'

'Geez, how annoying…'

'Aw, I thought it was about time for this…'

"You idiot, you're just a rookie!" Iruka yelled, standing up. "Everyone starts off with the simple duties and works their way up!" The Hokage merely sighed.

"But!!! But!!! We keep getting the crappiest possible duties!!!" Naruto yelled back at him.

"Be quiet, you." Kakashi said, punching Naruto in the back of his head.

"Naruto, it seems I have to explain to you what these duties are all about." The Hokage took his pipe out his mouth as he spoke.

"Listen, every day the village receives numerous requests from babysitting, to assassination. Each request is written down on these lists and divided into an A, B, C, D ranking based on difficulty. This village is…" Everybody in the room paid close attention to the Hokage except Daeka and Naruto, who were thinking about what they would be eating that night.

"You guys just recently became genin. D-Rank missions are perfect for you."

"Last night I had pork ramen, so miso sounds good for…"

"Hey, listen!"

"I-I apologize." Kakashi said nervously.

"Geez, all you do is give lectures like that!" Naruto yelled from the floor. "But you know what?! I'm not the troublemaking brat you still think I am!!!"

'Gah…I'm getting yelled at for this later.' Iruka's look of shock turned to a smile, as did Sarutobi's as they looked down at Naruto.

"Ok."

"Huh?"

"If you want it that much…" The entire team perked their heads up as Sandaime spoke. "I'll give you a C-Rank mission. It's a protection mission of a certain individual."

"YAY!!!" The blond exclaimed. "Who?!! Who?!! A feudal lord?! A princess?!"

"Calm down, I'm about to introduce him. Hey, will you come in here?" Sandaime shouted in the door's direction. The effluvious stench of alcohol filled Daeka's nostrils as the door opened. Daeka watched with narrowed eyes as a man swaggered into the room, a cheap bottle of alcohol in his hand.

"What's this? They're all a bunch of super brats. Especially the shortest one with the super stupid-looking face. Are you really a ninja? Hey!!"

"Haha…who's the shortest one with the stupid face…" Naruto chuckled. He quickly caught on and his grin turned into a look of anger.

"I'LL KILL YOU!!!!" He tried to rush at the man, but was held back by Kakashi.

"What's the point of killing the person we're supposed to protect? Idiot…"

"I am the super expert bridge builder Tazuna. I expect you to provide me super protection until I get back to my country and complete the bridge."

"Well, let's--" Kakashi stopped as he heard a choking noise. He looked at Tazuna, who was grabbing at his throat, as though somebody was strangulating him. Kakashi threw a shuriken at the front of Tazuna, hoping to hit whoever was concealing their self, but it was blocked by a kunai. Daeka lowered his kunai to the side of Tazuna's neck as four clones came into view along with him, all of them holding different weapons to Tazuna's vital parts.

'I…I didn't even see him move…' The Hokage thought.

"You insult us and then you demand that we protect you. Do you even know who you're dealing with?" Daeka spoke in barely a whisper, yet everybody heard him perfectly. Sakura shifted uncomfortably from the killer intent that was emanating from him.

"We could kill you in the blink of an eye. If my mission wasn't to protect you, I'd drive this kunai straight through your heart. Now before you go acting like a belligerent asshole, show us some respect for even lifting a finger to help your pathetic tail." With a deadly glare, he dispelled his bunshins and put away his kunai.

"W-wow…" Naruto muttered. Not even Sasuke could hide his look of shock.

"Oh, and change your pants." Tazuna stumbled back, the noisome stench of excrement now filling the room.

"Ok team, meet me by the northern gates in no less than five minutes." Kakashi said, still stunned by his genin's display. They all nodded at him at and ran out of the Hokage Tower.

"Kakashi, keep an eye on those genin of yours." Sandaime called out to him as he left.

"LET'S GO!" Naruto yelled at his assembled team.

"What are you so excited about?" Sakura asked.

"'Cause…I've never left the village before." He said, looking around excitedly. Tazuna looked down at him with a sneer, but bit his tongue as he caught Daeka's eye.

'Go ahead, say something.' Daeka thought, fighting to keep a smile off of his face.

"Let's go." Kakashi said, walking off. They set off, Tazuna staying on the other side of Kakashi away from Daeka.

"Um…Tazuna-san?" Sakura said. "You're from the Wave country, right?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Kakashi-sensei, do they have ninjas in that country, too?"

"No, not in the Wave country. But, in most other countries, the culture and customs may be different, but hidden villages exist, and so do ninjas." As Kakashi went on to explain about the different countries and Kages, he noticed that there was a puddle on the ground near them.

"…and as you may have guessed, the Hokage is the best ninja in this country, like the Kazekage in Sunagakure."

"Wow, Hokage-sama is the best!" Sakura exclaimed.

'That lame geezer is that incredible? Sounds fishy…' She thought.

"You all just doubted Hokage-sama, didn't you?" Kakashi joked.

"But don't worry, there won't be any ninja combat in a C-Rank mission like this one."

"Then…we won't come in contact with foreign ninjas?" Sakura asked hopefully.

"Of course not!" Kakashi said, flashing his one-eyed smile. Sasuke looked over at Tazuna and saw the look of worry on his face.

'What's with that look?' He thought. As they continued to walk, Kakashi sensed someone appear behind him where the puddle was.

'Oh, damn…I do not feel like fighting right now…' The two ninja launched themselves at Kakashi, wrapping a spiked chain around him.

"What's this?!"

"Huh?"

"One down." The ninja closest to Kakashi said before both of the enemy ninjas jumped off in different directions, dismembering him.

"Kakashi-sensei!!" Sasuke yelled out. The two ninja swiftly moved over to Naruto.

"Two down." The one nearest him said. Naruto, paralyzed with fear, trembled with fear for his life.

'Kuso…' Sasuke sprung into action, throwing shuriken at the shinobi's spiked chain and trapping it against a tree. One of the ninja's claws scratched the back of Naruto's hand as they were pulled back. Sasuke followed up by tethering them with their own chain before they let it go, each of them charging at either Sakura or Naruto.

"UWAAH!" Naruto screamed, still paralyzed with fear.

'He's coming! I have to do it!" Sakura thought, drawing a kunai.

"Sir, get back." She said, getting into a defensive stance. Sasuke swiftly leaped in front of her, blocking the ninja's path. They suddenly stopped as a figure jumped out of nowhere and stopped them in their tracks.

'I forgot he was here!" Sakura thought happily.

"Bah…showoff." Sasuke muttered.

'What the hell?' Naruto thought with a shocked look on his face. Daeka stood triumphantly in front of them, the ninjas on the ground and his feet on either of their chests.

"You guys ok?" He asked his teammates. Seeing Sasuke and Sakura nod, he looked over his shoulder.

"And you, Kakashi-sensei?"

"I'm good." Kakashi said with a small wave.

'I couldn't do anything…Yet he…' Naruto looked over to Sasuke. 'It was his first real battle. Was he not scared at all? He looks as if nothing happened. And, he doesn't even have a speck of dust on him.'

"Hey!!" Sasuke called out to him. "You alright, scaredy cat?" Naruto's look went from shocked to angry.

"Naruto, save it. Their claws were soaked in poison. We must remove it quickly. We most open the wound and release the poisoned blood from your body. Don't move much, the poison will spread." He walked over to the incapacitated attackers and picked them up.

"Tazuna-san."

"What is it?"

"I need to talk to you." He said, tying them up. "These look like Hidden Mist Chuunins."

"Those kind of shinobis are known to continue fighting no matter what." Daeka interrupted. He walked over to them and kicked them awake.

"How did you read our movement--WHAT, DAEKA?! YOU TRAITOR!" One of them yelled, struggling against the ropes.

"How did you two survive?" Daeka asked, pressing his feet against their faces.

"We did what we could to survive."

"So we ran." With a sneer on his face, Daeka slapped them.

"You abandon your village and then you call me a traitor…I need not explain myself to the likes of you."

"But how did he know we were here?"

"You really need to be more observant of weather patterns."

"On a sunny day like this when it hasn't rained in days, there's not going to be a puddle." Kakashi explained.

"If you knew that, why did you let the brats fight?" Tazuna demanded.

"If I had wanted to, I could have killed these two instantly, but there was something I needed to figure out. Who these two were after."

"What do you mean?"

"Meaning…were they after you, or one of us. We haven't heard that there are shinobi after you. Our mission was simply to protect you from thieves or gangs."

"Then isn't this now like, a B-Rank mission?" Sakura asked.

"Right. This was supposed to be simple protection until you completed the bridge. If it was known that ninjas were after you this mission would have been set as the more expensive B-Rank. I'm sure you had a reason, but it causes problems when you lie about the mission. We are now operating outside of our duties."

"Kuso…" He heard Naruto say behind him.

"We aren't ready for this mission." Sakura exclaimed, completely losing her head.

"I guess we should return to the village and treat Naruto…" Kakashi said lazily.

"No need…I can do a jutsu that…" Daeka began walking over to Naruto when he saw something that made even the nigh-imperturbable jounin's eyes widen.

"Naruto!! What are you doing?!" Sakura screeched, eyeing the kunai he plunged into his left hand.

'Damnit…I've come too far to turn back now.' Naruto thought as he remembered all the training he did to become a ninja.

"I swear it on the pain in my left hand," He said, watching the poisoned blood drain from his body. "I'll protect the old man. We're continuing this mission!" Kakashi walked over and knelt in front of him, giving him a disturbingly cute smile.

"Naruto, it's good that you're releasing the poison, but any more and you'll die from lack of blood."

"WHAT?!"

In the interim, a tall, lanky mercenary was being berated by a short, stubby man.

"You failed?!! I paid you guys a lot of money because I heard you were very strong former ninjas." The mercenary picked up the enormous sword he was resting on his shoulder, making the short man shirt uncomfortably.

"Quit your bitching. This time I'll go with this head slicing cleaver…and kill them." He said, pointing the sword at the man for emphasis.

"Are you sure? It seems the enemy has hired some skilled ninjas, and with the failure of the Demon Brothers, they'll be better prepared."

"Who do you think I am?" The mercenary retorted. "There's a reason I'm called The Devil of the Hidden Mist, Momochi Zabuza."

'Now it's time to see if he's really the one.'

Daeka walked over to Naruto to examine his hand along with Kakashi. As he looked down, he could literally see the flesh regenerating and healing.

"Um…hey…am I going to be…ok?" Naruto asked, worried at the look on Kakashi's face.

"Eh, you should be fine." Kakashi bandaged up Naruto's hand, doing his best to act unconcerned about the Kyuubi's power.

"Kakashi…" Tazuna said gravely. "I have to talk to you."


End file.
